New Delhi, July 14: The BJP has alleged that the IAEA draft agreement shows that "India would be bound as a non-nuclear weapon state in perpetuity" and said the US was pushing the deal through "as it would bring India under the non-proliferation regime".
"In his address to the Lok Sabha on July 29, 2005, the Prime Minister had said we shall undertake the same responsibilities and obligations as the US. We expect the same rights and the benefits as the US. And India will never accept discrimination," BJP leader Arun Shourie said, adding that the assurance had been flouted in the IAEA draft agreement as "it does not recognise India as a Nuclear Weapons State (NWS)".
He also said that "one should not go by the opinions of the big names" like A P J Abdul Kalam and Brajesh Mishra while discussing the Indo-US nuclear deal. "I did not want to bring Kalam into this at all but he has come in and the Samajwadi Party and others are taking shelter under his great name," Shourie said.
He said that Kalam had sought an appointment with him three months back to discuss the nuclear issue. Though they conversed for more than an hour, Kalam did not come up with any new argument, Shourie said.
Shourie also claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told BJP leaders that the imported uranium post the Indo-US nuclear deal would be used for civilian purposes while the indigenous uranium would serve the country's defence needs. Shourie said this statement was made in a meeting called by the Prime Minister in August 2007, during which the 123 agreement was discussed.
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